First Starsan purge

[kohalajohn]

Doing my very first purge of a serving keg, using liquid instead of gas.

Hope I'm doing it right.

I have a fermenter bubbling away. After the fermenter are two serving kegs in a daisy chain. And then a bucket at the very end.

From the fermenter, a gas/gas jumper pushes gas into a serving keg filled with starsan. This first serving keg has a liquid/liquid jumper going to a second, empty, serving keg.

I see that the first serving keg is now delivering liquid into the second serving keg. Good.

From this second serving keg, a gas/gas jumper is now bubbling gas into a bucket of starsan. I have a heavy metal post in the gas QD that is in the bucket, so the line is open and also weighted down in the bucket.

The first serving keg is 3 gallons and the second serving keg is only 2.6 gallons. Hoping that eventually the second serving keg will be filled to the brim with starsan and liquid will overflow through the gas post, into the bucket.

Should have two sterilized serving kegs, if this works.

 

[Broken Crow]

That's how I did it and it worked out fine, but at the time I had just assumed that's how it's usually done... I didn't really read up on it first and only due to some recent threads (mostly this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/what-to-do-with-starsan-after-keg-purge.737487/) hadn't realized that a lot, if not most folk, drain the star san and leave the kegs full of air before connecting them to the fermenter. For what it's worth; I just can't wrap my head around the idea of filling a sanitized keg with air just to have it displaced again with fermentation gas when I can just push the star san out with ferm-gas.
...sure; it'll make the star san smelly such that I don't wanna reuse it but if I really wanna retain hop-aroma, I'd make peace with tossing the star san and wouldn't do it any other way.
...Looking forward to hearing what others say about it.
Happy Brewing!

 

[kohalajohn]

I'm relieved that we do it the same way. Fill the first keg with starsan. Invert the keg and do a small drain out the prv. When the gas has pushed the liquid out, leave the keg filled wtih 100% co2.

I would like to know about shelf life of starsan. I thought that as long as I keep everthing clean, I could leave it in a covered bucket and resuse it many times. My bucket of staran has not gone cloudy yet.

 

[Deadalus]

Doing my very first purge of a serving keg, using liquid instead of gas.

Hope I'm doing it right.

I have a fermenter bubbling away. After the fermenter are two serving kegs in a daisy chain. And then a bucket at the very end.

From the fermenter, a gas/gas jumper pushes gas into a serving keg filled with starsan. This first serving keg has a liquid/liquid jumper going to a second, empty, serving keg.

I see that the first serving keg is now delivering liquid into the second serving keg. Good.

From this second serving keg, a gas/gas jumper is now bubbling gas into a bucket of starsan. I have a heavy metal post in the gas QD that is in the bucket, so the line is open and also weighted down in the bucket.

The first serving keg is 3 gallons and the second serving keg is only 2.6 gallons. Hoping that eventually the second serving keg will be filled to the brim with starsan and liquid will overflow through the gas post, into the bucket.

Should have two sterilized serving kegs, if this works.

The second one will spit out 0.4 gallons but if you don't change the tube positioning, gas will enter the second keg through the beer diptube and then go up and out the gas post. All the liquid won't leave. Push the remaining liquid out as you would normally serve beer, which requires repositioning the lines-fermenter gas in through gas post.

 

[kohalajohn]

@Deadalus you are correct.

I went downstairs and sure enough, the second keg had stalled, with gas escaping but some liquid not being pushed through.

I'm just going to write this out, to get it straight in my head.

I chopped and swapped one of the tubes. I made a liquid to gas jumper. It makes sense. To daisy chain kegs, I have to set them all up as if I am serving beer from each one. You just think of the liquid entering the gas port, as a gas.

I set up the two kegs again, to do this over. Again, the first keg was filled with starsan and the second keg was empty.

I cheated by using bottled co2 this time, just to get it done.

So. So the gas (from bottle or fermenter) enters the first keg in the gas port and pushes liquid out through the liquid post.

But now the first keg has a liquid to gas jumper. The starsan leaves the first keg via the liquid post of course, but it enters the second keg via the gas post.

The starsan enters the second keg and drops down to the floor of the keg. Eventually this liquid is pushed up the second keg's diptube and out the liquid post, into the bucket.

When the first keg has emptied itself of liquid, it now pushes gas from its liquid port into the gas port of the second keg. That gas will eventually push all the liquid out of the second keg and into the bucket.

Whew. Ok. Now two serving kegs are fully sanitized. All the ports have had starsan run through them. And I inverted the kegs and sprayed starsan out the prv. And also they contain no oxygen.

Now I have to make a new gas/gas jumper for my closed transfers. Apparently I am collecting a large number of tube systems.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Broken Crow]

But now the first keg has a liquid to gas jumper. The starsan leaves the first keg via the liquid post of course, but it enters the second keg via the gas post.

Sorry I missed that in your original post! FWIW; once one keg is done, you can remove it from the chain...and yes, you do end up with a collection of lines for every occasion. Here's a nifty piece you may wish to toss together so you can purge your lines come transfer time:

you can buy SS couplers, but they tend to be for either gas or liquid and not universal like the carb caps.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]For what it's worth; I just can't wrap my head around the idea of filling a sanitized keg with air just to have it displaced again with fermentation gas when I can just push the star san out with ferm-gas.

I just let the fermentation gas do its thing on its own because it's easier and @doug293cz's work on the subject assures me of success while leaving my precious Star San reservoir sans odor

Cheers!.

 

[kohalajohn]

Sorry I missed that in your original post! FWIW; once one keg is done, you can remove it from the chain...and yes, you do end up with a collection of lines for every occasion. Here's a nifty piece you may wish to toss together so you can purge your lines come transfer time:
View attachment 883380
you can buy SS couplers, but they tend to be for either gas or liquid and not universal like the carb caps.

So is that for pushing co2 through jumper lines?

And is there a mnemonic reason for having red and yellow?

 

[Broken Crow]

I just let the fermentation gas do its thing on its own because it's easier and @doug293cz's work on the subject assures me of success while leaving my precious Star San reservoir sans odor

Cheers!.

I know, ...I've read dougs epic post and while the only 'absolute certainty' I've ever adhered to in life is the math of science, I suspect I'm just biased from an early age of growing up in the most polluted air in Canada, plus; I do my keg care in my 1930's basement... I just think of air as being filthy....if you ever visit my town, you'll smell it the moment you roll down your window and be relieved to breathe again as soon as you exit the city limits.
(on leaving town

So is that for pushing co2 through jumper lines?

And is there a mnemonic reason for having red and yellow?

Yup. I always connect it to my CO2 and use it when cleaning/sanitizing/purging/pressurizing my transfer lines.
The only reason there's a yellow one is that was the closest one in reach when I put it together.